Skinny Love
by JWolf28
Summary: Soul mate AU where Felicity meets Oliver and realizes that he is her soul mate, but isn't sure if he is hers. Title and chapter names are from the song "Skinny Love" by Bon Iver. Update is authors' note at beginning of last chapter.
1. Who Will Love You?

**A/N: I know I shouldn't be starting another story when I haven't finished this one, but I started and couldn't stop and I just wanted to see what others might think of it. I'm sure that this has been done before, but this is my take on the thought. Leave me a review with suggestions and thoughts, I love to hear them! I can leave it here if you guys want or I continue. I've got ideas of where to go if you guys want more, but it doesn't have to be continued. Anyway, onto the story.**

 _ **Skinny love- when two people love each other and are too shy to admit it, but they still show it.**_

 _The story was always told the same. The goddess Aphrodite gifted the humans of the earth soul mates. A person on the planet that matched them perfectly in every way and would love them to the end of time, but humans were dumb creatures that did not recognize this gift and that frustrated the goddess immensely. To help the humans along, she took their ability to see color away, only allowing them to see in black in white until there came the time when they met their soul mate and the world burst into bright colors, allowing them to recognize their other half and living a happy colorful life with them._

When Felicity met Oliver that day by her desk, she had been surprised by the explosion of color that surrounded her. Her head reared back and she blinked at him in surprise as he watched her. "Felicity Smoak? Hi, I'm Oliver Queen."

She gulped. "Of course! I know who you are. You're 'Mr. Queen'"

He pursed his lips. "No. Mr. Queen was my father."

"Right. But he's dead. I mean, he drowned. And you didn't. Which means you can come down to the IT department and listen to me babble. Which will end in 3… 2… 1…" God, she couldn't have made any more of a fool of herself in front of her soul mate? Speaking of, why hadn't he mentioned it? If they're soul mates, then why wasn't he just as shocked by seeing color as she was? Oh, god, did he not see color? Was she one of those people that saw colors with the wrong person? She knew it happened to some people. She always thought that it wouldn't happen to her, but anything was possible. That and it seemed to run in her family. Her parents weren't soul mates. Her mother saw color when she looked at Felicity's father, but Noah didn't. In an effort to keep him, Donna slept with him and got pregnant quick, hoping that a baby would hold him to them. It was proved utterly unsuccessful when Noah met his soul mate when Felicity was three and took off. Her grand father was the same way. He met a woman who helped him see color, but who didn't see it with him. He married her and they had children, but Felicity's grandmother died colorblind, unwilling to abandon her children to go looking for her soul mate. Being the kind woman that she was, Felicity imagined that even if Jean Smoak had found her soul mate, she would have stayed with her husband. After so many years together, she had learned to love Logan and they were happy enough until the kind woman's death five years prior.

Felicity blushed furiously upon realizing that Oliver was talking and forced herself to pay attention.

"-ing some trouble with my computer and they told me you were the person to come and see. I was at my coffee shop surfing the web and I spilt a latte on it."

She couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"Cause these? Look like bullet holes."

"My coffee shop is in a bad neighborhood." It was all Felicity could do to not burst out laughing. Instead, she bit back a smile and took the laptop from him, setting to work on it immediately. Rather than leaving as Felicity had expected, Oliver pulled the chair from in front of her desk and pulled it to her side, perching on the edge as he leaned forward and watched her work.

Felicity felt nervous and tried to find a way to ask the question on her mind without seeming _too_ curious. "So…" She bit her lip. "Were you at the coffee shop looking for your soul mate?" Wow; smooth, Smoak. "I mean, that's what I would do if I'd just gotten off an island." Someone stop her, she was making it worse. "Not that I have been." Oh, that's so much better; single him out. "But if I had, that's what I would do. Unless you found her before the island." Oh, god, what if he's gay?! "Or him. Maybe your soul mate is a him." She needed psychological help. She was only making herself sound stupider. "And I'm going to stop talking now. Because I'm being _way_ too personal. I should just shut up. Which I am going to do. Right now." Felicity mentally counted back from three in an effort to keep her trap shut. There was a small huff of air that almost resembled a laugh and Felicity's cheeks flamed bright red. He was laughing at her!

"I met my soul mate before the island. We had problems, but we're trying to work through them."

Felicity nodded. Just as she had feared, she met the person that was perfect for her, but who she wasn't perfect for. "Cool. That's good for you guys."

She could feel his eyes on her. "What about you? I don't see a ring and forgive me if I'm making wrong assumptions, but you strike me as the person that would marry your soul mate the second you met him." A pause. "Or her. Maybe your soul mate is a her." Oh, god, he was parroting her words. Could he make himself anymore attractive? God, this was painful.

The blonde could only try to think of a way to give him a suitable response. "I… met him recently." Come on, Felicity, don't say anything too revealing. Give him a believable but totally fake story. "It turns out that he was my soul mate, but I wasn't his." Shit. Well done, Felicity, you fudged it again."

Oliver went very still next to her. "That's unfortunate. I'm so sorry."

Felicity shrugged. "It's not unheard. Runs in my family."

Oliver stared at her and Felicity couldn't help but look over to him. He was frowning at her, blue eyes staring into hers and anxiety bubbled in the pit of her stomach. "Is that so?"

Felicity nodded. "My mom, my grandfather, great grand father, great, great grandmother. I could go on for days."

"Any idea why?"

Felicity turned away from him, looking back to the computer and tapping a few keys. A loading screen appeared as her computer started searching the laptop she had hooked it up to. "I have a theory that I have yet to prove. Or to ever prove, really."

"Care to share?"

Felicity sighed. This was too deep a conversation to be having with someone she just met, but she felt like she just had to tell him everything. "Well, my theory is that it's because they all were born from a couple that weren't soul mates." She bit her lip, wondering if she should continue. A looked from Oliver that told her he was intrigued helped her continue. "It started with my many greats grandfather. He was a man-whore that slept with just about anything that moved and my many greats grandmother got pregnant. She raised the kid on her own because my grandfather found and married his soul mate and left my grandmother behind. She raised the child anyway and found and married her soul mate and that's history, but the first child found that he met a wonderful woman and saw color only to realize that he wasn't her soul mate. He slept with her and got her pregnant and forced her to marry him anyway. They had three children and all three found the same thing. They met people that gave them color, but they didn't give color to. Two of the children let their soul mates go and watched from afar, but the third, the only daughter got pregnant with her soul mate's child and thus repeated the pattern.

"Most of the people in my family hear this story and don't marry their soul mates because they don't want to continue to produce offspring that will be hurt by this, but my grandfather and grandmother had two kids. My mom and my uncle. My uncle met his soul mate, found out that our family's 'curse' is real and… killed himself. My mother met my father and tried to trap him by getting pregnant, but he met his soul mate and left us. That leaves me. And as much as I want to, I'm not going to get involved with my soul mate and let this curse just die off."

Oliver frowned at the conclusion of her story. "You don't want kids?"

Felicity shrugged. "Not anytime soon. And besides, I can just adopt. Not a big deal. There are plenty of kids out there that need homes."

Oliver nodded and those deep eyes of his searched her face, looking for answers to which she didn't know the question. Then the computer beeped and Felicity turned back to it, pulling up all the files. They spoke only of the laptop for the rest of the visit and Oliver left shortly after. Later that night, Felicity went home and sat on a barstool at her breakfast bar with a large class of wine and called her mother. "Mom? I met my soul mate today. I'm not his." She put her head down on her arms and sobbed into the phone, listening to her mother's words of comfort.


	2. Who Will Fight?

_"Mom? I met my soul mate today. I'm not his." She put her head down on her arms and sobbed into the phone, listening to her mother's words of comfort._

The rest of her week progressed as normal with no more visits from Oliver Queen and she was glad for it. As much as it hurt to be away from her soul mate, she knew that she needed to let him go so he could be happy. She wasn't meant to be happy. She knew that.

It was a while before she saw him again, but he came back asking her to help him hunt down an "old friend" and she couldn't turn him away. He returned numerous times, always with different, strange requests and terrible lies, but Felicity figured that if she didn't get emotionally involved, it was okay. Of course, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry and Felicity's was no exception. As Oliver continued to bring her more and more requests, she found herself loving him for more than just being her soul mate. He was kind and sweet and he seemed to genuinely care for her well-being as shown the time he'd noticed the bags under eyes and tried to get her to take off work to get some rest. She couldn't exactly tell him she'd been away because of a Friends marathon and just told him she couldn't take off because she had too much to do.

Pretty soon, "run this syringe of energy drink for me" became "can I take you to lunch to talk about this thing I need help with" and Felicity got to know Oliver more outside of the strange projects he brought her. He told her about his antics with his little sister as kids or stories from his and Tommy's wilder days. On one memorable occasion, they'd sat in her office with the door closed and he told her about a few of his better Island Stories. When she'd asked why he'd chosen to tell her, he'd only given her that small, heart-wrenchingly sad smile and told her that he felt like he could tell her anything.

With all the time she spent with him, she found herself getting more and more emotionally invested in him and found herself with a glass- more like bottle- of wine and on the phone with her mother. She sniffled. "Mom, I don't know what to do anymore. We're getting close and I care so much and it just _hurts_."

Her mother sighed. "I know, baby, but it's just not supposed to be." A pause. "Or, maybe you guys are just not supposed to be together romantically. You can be his friend. You can stand by him when he needs you and help him with that tech stuff you said he's been bringing to you. I think being with him as a friend is better than losing him completely."

Felicity nodded with a small sob. "You're right. I just need to think of him only platonically."

"It'll be hard, but I get the feeling it'll be worth it."

"Yeah." She frowned as her doorbell rang. "I've gotta go, Mom, someone's at the door."

"I'll talk to you later, Baby."

Felicity hung up and stood on her tiptoes to reach the peep hole. She frowned when she saw who it was, and opened the door. "Oliver, what are you doing here?"

His shoulders looked heavy and he gave her that look that broke her heart every time he had it. "I went on a date with Laurel and she took the chance to grill me about the island. She doesn't understand that I don't want to talk about it. I didn't want to go home because I know Thea would back Laurel up, and Tommy would just try to kick my ass for denying Laurel something." He sighed. "I just couldn't think of anywhere else to go. You're the only one who never asks." He gave the smallest of smiles. "That's what makes you the only person I really want to tell. I know you won't judge me for who I am or what I've done."

Felicity stepped back to let him in. "You know, she sounds kind of like a really crappy soul mate."

Oliver chuckled and dropped onto her couch. "She's great most of the time, but sometimes she just gets in that kind of mood." He shook his head. "Is it supposed to be this hard? I feel like it should be easier. She's my perfect match. Doesn't that mean that we should get along easy? No problems; no fights."

Felicity couldn't help that wish she had a _real_ soul mate to fight with, but she only shrugged and handed him a glass of the wine she'd been drinking. "I don't think anything is supposed to be easy. If it's easy, what makes it worth fighting for? What's the point in having someone perfect for you if they don't challenge you?"

Oliver shrugged. "But why does that mean she has to try to change me?"

"Maybe she's changed and is trying to change you to fit the new her. You were gone for five years. That's a long time. I have no doubt that she changed in that time and maybe she's trying to make you understand that she's not the same person you left behind." At his frown, she swallowed a gulp of wine and quickly went on. "I'm not saying what she's doing is right, but it _is_ something that you need to discuss with her."

Oliver nodded and took a tentative sip of the wine, nose wrinkling as he took in the flavor. "This is awful."

Felicity rolled her eyes. "Not everyone can have expensive wine, Oliver. Some of us have a mortgage to pay."

Oliver glared at the glass in his hand. "The next time I come over, I'm bringing decent wine. If I'm going to be here and get amazing advice, I can't have the quality of the evening destroyed by really, really bad wine." Felicity could only laugh.

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Fun fact. When Oliver said he'd do something, he usually did it. A week later, Oliver turned up once more looking to get away from his soul mate's pushy attitude, and this time, he brought a bottle of wine that Felicity would guess was worth more than her house. Oliver only laughed and opened a few cabinets, looking for her glasses. By the third visit, she stopped commenting on the expensive wine and he could name her favorite brand and which cupboard contained which glasses. He knew that she preferred red wine over anything else and on the few nights that they went to Verdant together to attempt to be 'social', he found out that she despised the fruity drinks that most girls he knew drank and instead would sip on a glass of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey whiskey. In fact, on one occasion when she'd had a drink bought for her by someone at the bar, she'd been polite and thanked the man, but hadn't touched the Sex on the Beach that he'd bought for her. Oliver didn't know why it gave him satisfaction to see her completely uncaring of the man's attempt to buy her affections, but he knew it wasn't good. Laurel was his _soul mate_. She was the one he should be focusing on, but for some reason, all he could think of was Felicity.

He didn't know if it was how she called him on the BS lies he gave her when he needed her help for a case he was working as the vigilante, or the way that she was so trusting of him to tell her what was going on when it became necessary. Maybe it was how calm she was when he told her a few things about the island, or the way she looked at him with sympathy instead of pity as others had. He just liked being around her. Of course, her ability to see past his mental scars led him to wonder just how she was able to see past the physical ones as well. He remembered when Laurel first saw his scars that night of his "I got arrested again" party. She'd been horrified and the pity and disgust in her eyes had made him want to cover up and never let anyone see ever again. He'd felt that way for a while until he spilled wine on his shirt at Felicity's place and she'd insisted on trying to get it out right away. That had required removing said shirt, which he was loath to do. With Felicity's pushing, he finally did so, refusing to look at her for several moments after she saw him. When he did look at her, however, he was surprised to find her mouth ajar and expression stunned in what looked like appreciation rather than disgust.

This, of course, had caused a long repressed side of him to come out and the old Ollie made an appearance, asking her if she saw something she liked. She'd blushed a fire engine red and made a joke about him doing something other than eat coconuts on the island. It offered a surprising sense of normalcy for him and he enjoyed it more than he should. The fact that he shouldn't enjoy watching the rose blush spread across her cheeks didn't stop him from trying to see it more, though. Now that he knew she didn't care about his scars, he did his best to find a reason to whip off his shirt any time he was with her. He'd done it a number of times and he had to admit that his favorite was the time she'd gone to change out of her work clothes and came back out to find Oliver's shirt on the couch and the man himself using two open doors as a make-shift pull up bar. It was the darkest blush he'd seen on her and he'd cited the excuse of not being able to hit the gym before heading over to her place. He'd offered to stop, but Felicity convinced him not to and settled down with a glass of wine to watch him.

Of course, all the time that he spent with Felicity was starting to grate on Laurel and Oliver knew he needed to introduce the two. He did this on one day after Felicity got off work and the three of them went out to Big Belly Burger and had dinner. Laurel proved to be entirely unimpressed with the greasy food, while Oliver and Felicity laughed and joked like they were old friends. Oliver could see that this was making his soul mate angry and tried to tone it down for the rest of the night, including Laurel into the conversations he and Felicity flew through, but nothing seemed to make her feel better. After the dinner, Laurel had told him that she didn't want him spending anymore time with Felicity. "I don't like the way she looks at you, Oliver. She looks at you like you're _her_ soul mate and not mine. I don't like that."

"Laur, Felicity's already met her soul mate. It's not me. You don't need to worry."

It didn't calm the lawyer and her face screwed up in what looked like jealousy and rage. "If you don't stop visiting her, I'll leave you, Oliver. I'm not going to stay in a loveless relationship."

This confused the archer. He felt like he'd been more open in the time since he'd become friends with Felicity, but evidently he'd been wrong. He sighed with a nod. "Okay. You know I can't lose you again, Laur. I won't."

The brunette nodded and Oliver called Felicity and told her what had happened. Felicity, being the kind, understanding person that she was, had just said she understood in a tearful voice that made his chest ache and hung up. He had never been so miserable.

 **A/N: Kind of sad, I know, but even though most people don't like to paint Laurel as a bad guy, I feel like she'd need to be in this story. Also, in this story, Oliver doesn't bring Felicity into the Team Arrow fold for a good while, as he thinks he should protect the closest friend he's had in a while. He won't get shot by his mother and therefore won't turn up in her car. I'm making it so that Walter never even tasked Felicity with finding out about the Book. I don't know when she'll be a part of the team, but if anything, it'll be closer to the Undertaking.**

 **A/N2: I want to thank everyone that reviewed, followed, and favorited; you guys make me happy to write. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to leave a review or PM me. I'm always happy to hear what you have to say. Unless it's mean. Then I will listen and judge you from the other side of this computer screen. Just saying. Anyhoo, love you all and I will see you next week!**


	3. Who Will Fall?

The weeks passed by with stunning speed and Oliver missed Felicity every day. On those nights when he needed to get away from Laurel and everyone else, he ached to visit his friend, but went to the Foundry instead. While he knew that Laurel probably wouldn't know if he went to see the IT girl, he didn't want to risk it. Laurel was cunning and sometimes cruel and he wouldn't be surprised if she'd said something to her dad and asked to have an officer tailing him. This made him even more paranoid and he was constantly looking over his shoulder for the tail that may or may not be there.

Four months after Laurel made him stop seeing Felicity, he found himself taking Thea to Big Belly Burger. She'd been out late the night before and was more than hung over. While he knew that she shouldn't be drinking at all, he'd also talked to Felicity about it and she'd told him that he needed to be her brother and not her father. While she hadn't expounded upon it, he thought he knew what she meant; he needed to take care of Thea after she had messed up, not lecture her. To Oliver, that meant providing the necessary greasy food after she'd spent the night drinking.

As they stepped into the restaurant, Thea sighed with a smile. The store was surprisingly quiet for lunch time, but Oliver knew it was soothing his sister's pounding skull. They'd just started eating when Oliver felt a familiar scent tickle his nose and looked up to see Felicity enter with a smile. The bags under her eyes hurt his heart, but he forced the feeling away and watched her out of the corner of his eye. She moved to a booth not far away and sat next to a teenager in a red hoodie. She smiled sadly as she saw the young man and sat on his side of the booth. As soon as she was settled, his head dropped onto her shoulder and Oliver had to push down a sudden, surprising, wave of jealousy.

After a few moments of watching the kid's lips move as he talked to the blonde, tears started to drip to both of their cheeks. The kid's shoulders shook as he pressed his face into Felicity's shoulder and Felicity wrapped her arms around his shoulders, letting him cry on her. Her head rested atop his and her emerald nails ran through the hair at the back of his head. A few tears slipped down her cheeks as she sat there and Oliver found himself moving from his seat and moving towards the blonde. "Felicity? Is everything alright?"

Felicity nodded. "Roy's mother passed away yesterday. He wanted greasy food and a friendly shoulder to cry on."

Oliver nodded and started to turn away when he heard Thea's shocked gasp next to him. He looked over to find her eyes trained on Roy and the boy himself looked up, eyes dilating as he looked at her. Thea smiled and Roy's tears stopped instantly. "Your eyes are so beautiful. There's like three different colors."

Thea grinned at him. "Yours are so blue."

Roy wiped his cheeks quickly and made to stand, so Felicity scooted out of the booth. The teen held out a hand with a smile. "I'm Roy. Roy Harper."

Thea shook his hand with the same awed smile. "Thea Queen. So we're soul mates, huh?"

Roy nodded. "I guess that saying is true. 'What is coming is better than what is gone.'"

Thea blushed and Roy did the same, the two of them looking at their feet and Thea looked up. "Do you want to sit at my table with me? We could talk?"

Roy smiled. "I think I'd like that." He looked to Felicity and she smiled sadly and nodded, passing him his tray of almost uneaten food. Oliver grabbed his food and sat down opposite Felicity at the table. She gave him a small uncertain smile and bit into a fry. He pushed his own around and finally just sighed and looked at her, taking in every detail. Her hair was a little messier than usual and those dreadful bags were killing him on the inside. "So… how's work?"

Felicity shrugged. "It's work. My boss is a jerk. He just delegates all of his work to the rest of the team and sits in his office watching whatever for the rest of the day. I'm guessing it's porn because pretty much every five minutes, I'm called in there and get the delight of him staring down my shirt while I try to get rid of all the viruses in his computer before they spread to the QC servers and destroy everything."

Oliver winced in sympathy, knowing he was going to talk to Walter about getting this guy removed. What was the point of having a supervisor if he was useless? Felicity shifted uncomfortably. "How's Laurel?"

A heavy sigh escaped him. "She's still being difficult. It's been four months since she told me I couldn't be friends with you and she still thinks that I'm too 'closed off' and 'difficult'. She keeps threatening to leave me and I'm starting to think I should just let her. If she really valued our relationship, shouldn't she care enough about us that she wouldn't hold it above me head?"

Felicity shrugged. "I think that she may be doing that _because_ she cares about you and your relationship. If she was jealous of us being friends, she probably is just scared that you'll get bored and leave her. I mean, how long have you known her?"

"Since we were ten. Tommy and I went with my mom to bail Dad out of jail for some DUI charge and she was there, waiting for her dad to be done working. I looked at her and she turned to look at me and her brown eyes were the first color I saw." The dreamy smile on his face made Felicity flinch. He frowned. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "I'm fine. Anyway, maybe she's afraid that you'll get tired of being with her if you've known her and loved her for over a decade. Obviously, it's unfounded, but sometimes you can't control how you feel."

Oliver nodded. "Well, enough about me. What about you? I know you and your soul mate didn't exactly… work out, but what was he like? How'd you meet?"

Felicity bit her lip, drawing his eyes to the brightly colored skin. "Well, he was at QC… with a friend and they sent him to my office. He'd spilled a latte on his laptop and needed help. I looked up and there he was and in that instant, there was just this mad rush of color. When he didn't say anything, I got worried about my family's history so I tried to be as casual as I could and asked about his soul mate. He just said that they were together. Had been for years." Roy's laugh could suddenly be heard and Felicity looked over to the couple and pursed her lips, a tears falling down her cheek before a small smile crawled onto her face. "His mom died two days ago. He hasn't smiled or laughed about anything. Not even my word vomit. I'm glad he found her."

Oliver nodded, his eyes still trained on her face as he thought about her story. It sounded familiar, but he couldn't place it. He let it roll around his mind before turning his attention back to the conversation. "How long have you known Roy?"

Felicity grinned. "He and his parents lived next door to me and Mom in Vegas. His dad worked a lot and his mom was a little ditzy so when he moved in what I was nine, he needed someone to be there for him. He was five and sweeter than anything so it wasn't hard to start to love him. He's like a brother to me. When I moved here after MIT, four years ago, Roy and his mom came with me. His father had just died a few months before- heart attack- and they needed a change. His mother had to adjust to living without color and it was hard. She and Mr. Harper had met when they were a couple years old. Mrs. Harper didn't know what it was like to be colorblind. She didn't even remember it, you know. So, she moved with Roy to a new city to get away from the memories. The only problem was that she got so down that she decided to find something to stop the pain and started doing drug. Every cent they had fed her addiction and Roy got the crappy end of it. He's been living in the Glades for a while, not that he told _me_ this so I could help him." She shook her head with a fond smile. "He's a good kid, just had bad luck. He's got a job now and he's moved into a bit more of a secure area. Thea's lucky to have him."

Oliver nodded, everything he needed to know in the story Felicity had told. They both lapsed into a silence as they started eating again and Oliver took this time to mull over Felicity's soul mate story before a ball of dread landed in his stomach as everything finally came together. Why Felicity got along with him so well, so quickly. Why Laurel thought Felicity looked at him like he was her soul mate. Why Felicity seemed so hurt when he brought up all the good times he'd had with Laurel. Why Felicity was so willing to help him with whatever he asked. It all made sense. He was Felicity's soul mate, but she wasn't his.

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Felicity frowned as Oliver turned pale. "You okay there?"

He started to nod before quickly shaking his head. "I think I ate something bad. I feel sick. I think I'm going to head home."

Felicity sat up a little straighter, hand going to her bag. "Do you need me to drive you home? You shouldn't drive yourself if you're going to pray to the porcelain gods."

"No!" Felicity drew her head back at the instant and slightly loud answer. He cleared his throat. "I mean, no. I think I'll give Speedy the car keys and just take a cab."

Felicity nodded slowly. "Okay." She laid back a bit in the booth. "Feel better."

He spoke softly to Thea for a moment before leaving quickly and Felicity could only wonder what had _really_ been the reason for his quick departure. She didn't think he had recognized her soul mate story. She'd had to stick as close to the real thing as possible because she really was a terrible liar, but he hadn't seemed to notice anything was familiar about it. The blonde could only shrug and turn her gaze to where Roy and Thea were sitting side by side in a booth. Roy was grinning widely at whatever the other teenager was saying and Felicity was glad that the two were getting along.

About half an hour later, Felicity stood to leave and went to Roy's to tell him goodbye. He looked up at her, the brightness in his eyes warming her heart. "Yeah?"

"I'm going to head out. You guys have fun."

Roy stood. "Let me walk you out. I heard there's been some gang stuff going on around here."

Felicity waved his concern away. "I'm sure I'll be fine."

He shook his head. "It's not safe, Lis." He looked to Thea. "Are you ready to go? We can talk more at my apartment. It's not far from here."

Thea nodded and took his hand, standing. "Sounds good to me. It's getting a little loud here."

Roy nodded in agreement and the trio left. Roy brought Thea to her car first, making sure she was safe inside before telling her to wait for him to get to his car so he could lead her to his apartment. Then he walked Felicity to her car, scowling as he did so. "Could you have parked any farther away, Lis? You're lucky your Mini wasn't stolen."

"It's fine."

The teen sighed and shook his head. "It's really not, but I'm not in the mood to argue with you. I'll see you on Sunday. Mom's funeral is at ten. I'll get you the rest of the details later."

Felicity nodded, about to get to into her car when a scream split the air and Roy's eyes went wide before he took off. "THEA!"

 **A/N: And there's your chapter for the week, folks. I hope you've enjoyed! Let me know what you think. I love all of you! If I can get another five reviews by tomorrow, I may be inclined to post the next chapter tomorrow. I'm in the writing mood and it isn't going to take me long to have it ready. Until then, then, y'all!**


	4. Tell my Love to Wreck it All

**A/N: Yay! I finished this for you all! You guys made it to six reviews over the last 24 hours so I present to you, chapter four. Let me know what you think! I will see y'all next Tuesday!**

 _Felicity nodded, about to get to into her car when a scream split the air and Roy's eyes went wide before he took off. "THEA!"_

Felicity ran after Roy, thankful she'd worn her panda flats instead of heels. That wouldn't have been a problem. She got to the pair of soul mates only a few seconds later to find Thea on the ground, a bleeding cut on her forehead and almost on the ground of the alley she was in. Roy was using the few fighting skills he had to fight off the guy that Felicity assumed was the one who had grabbed and hurt his soul mate.

While the teen seemed to be winning at first, he soon took a powerful hit to the temple that brought him to his knees. The attacker wiped blood away from his nose and picked up a knife from the ground, approaching the fallen boy. Felicity did the only thing that she could think of. She tacked the asshole. She landed on top of him and knocked the wind out of him, the knife flying away once more. She rolled off of him before he had a chance to recover and tried to find something more effectual that her weak fist to hit him with.

Ignoring the stitch in her side that told her she was even more out of shape than she'd thought she was, Felicity grabbed for a rusty- or was that blood?- crowbar next to a dumpster and turned back to the man, only to be met with a punch to the face. It took her breath away and allowed the crowbar to slip from her fingers as she groaned. The man picked it up, anger turning his dark eyes almost black. "Bitch! Do you know who that is? That's Thea Fucking Queen! One hell of a payday, in other words! You and Superman over here have cost me so I'm going to kill you and princess over there and take everything."

Felicity scoffed, earning herself a hit to the ribs with the crowbar. She coughed and whimpered. "Why didn't you just take the purse and run the first place?"

He rolled his eyes. "If I'd been able to take the princess herself, I could have ransomed the bitch."

Felicity laughed breathlessly. "Like that would have worked. They would have caught you before you got your stupid ransom. And they're going to catch you if you kill us now. So I suggest walking away with your tail between your legs. It'll work out better for you."

He growled angrily and hit her in the collarbone, making the blonde scream in pain as the bone made a loud crack. As he raised the crowbar high over his head, ready to deliver what would likely be a killing blow to her head, he fell suddenly; Roy left standing behind him with a large rock in his hand. The teen dropped the rock and turned his attention to his soul mate, running to her side and kneeling in front of the now-unconscious Queen. His phone was soon out of his pocket, calling the police and requesting an ambulance. Felicity struggled to her feet and shuffled to her surrogate brother, good hand covering the stitch in her side that flared in pain. She fell to her knees almost as soon as she saw got to Roy. "How is she?"

He shrugged. "She's out now. Probably has a concussion. What happened? She was in the car when we left her? Why'd she get out?"

Felicity started to shrug back, but gasped in pain at her likely broken collarbone. Roy's gaze turned to her. "Lis, you okay?"

She nodded. "I'll be fine."

"You sure? You're a little pale."

Felicity groaned as the pain in her side got worse and shifted her hand, frowning at the wet feeling. She pulled the appendage away and stifled a gasp at the red coloring, keeping quiet so she wouldn't worry Roy. The teen had turned his attention back to Thea where she was quietly beginning to wake up. She blinked blearily at Roy. "Did you get him?"

He grinned. "Lis did most of the work, but yeah. What happened? I left you in your car."

Thea sighed. "The car wouldn't start. You guys were just a few spaces down. I could see you from where I was. I thought it would be okay to walk to you. I was almost there when that guy grabbed me and dragged me here."

Roy frowned. "How new is your car?"

"Very. I got it last month."

He sighed. "That asshole probably tampered with it. It's not hard. You just take off the distributer cap and it won't go anywhere. A lot of people do it here. Next time- and I really hope there isn't a next time-, just stay in the car with the doors locked and call me. Okay?"

Thea nodded and turned her attention to the blonde kneeling next to Roy. "Are you okay?"

Felicity chuckled. "I could ask you the same thing."

"I didn't go head to head with a mugger."

"Kidnapper, but that's just semantics. And I'm fine."

Thea raised an eyebrow. "Really? Because you look like you got hit by a bus."

"I got hit with a crowbar a couple times, but really, I'm fine."

The sound of sirens grew loud and Felicity sat against the wall next to Thea as Roy ran off to lead them to the alley. "Your brother's going to be pissed."

Thea laughed. "Yeah. Probably going to try to get at the guy in his cell."

Felicity smirked. "Five bucks says he actually gets to punch the guy."

Thea grinned. "I'll take that bet. Lance keeps his criminals locked up pretty well."

"If his youth was anything like the papers led me to believe, then he could sleepwalk through SCPD headquarters."

"You're probably right about that. So, I'm going to change the bet. I bet you ten bucks that Oliver will get into the guys cell and break his nose."

Felicity chuckled. "No, he'll break his nose and two ribs." Thea held out a hand to shake and with her left arm being useless with the broken collar bone, Felicity took Thea's hand with her right one and the teen's eyes went wide when the dampness of Felicity's palm sunk in. She yanked her hand away and stared at the red color. "Lis? Oh, god, you're bleeding! Where? What happened? You said you were fine!"

"I _am_ fine. Tis but a scratch."

Thea glared. "Quoting Monty Python isn't going to help this."

Felicity looked shocked. " _You_ saw Monty Python?"

The teen rolled her eyes. "I watched it at a friend's house a while ago. It was funny."

Felicity grinned and groaned as Thea found the wound and applied pressure. "That's a lot of blood." She growled, sounding remarkably like her brother when he was angry. "I don't know what you were thinking, hiding this from us."

"Roy doesn't need anything more to worry about."

Thea saw the paramedics and Roy and called them over. "She's bleeding! Help!"

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Oliver paced his room, thinking about what had happened at Big Belly. Thea met her soul mate. It was a beg deal, but not what he was worrying about right now. He was Felicity's soul mate. He supposed there was a chance that it wasn't him, but the story was so familiar. He'd gone to her office and said he spilt a latte on his laptop. He'd sat with her while she fixed it. He'd listened while she rambled on- rather adorably, if he was being honest- about his soul mate. He'd told her that they were making it work. God, he could only imagine how much he'd hurt her, going to her about all his problems about Laurel. Telling her about all the things they'd done in their youth and how crazy about her he was. It was no wonder she never got any sleep. She was probably up late feeling horrible because he was always rubbing his soul mate in her face.

As he pondered this, his phone rang. "Hello?"

"Is this Oliver Queen?"

"Yes, who is this?"

"I'm Dr. Douglas Firr from Starling Memorial Hospital. Your sister was just brought in and as you're her emergency contact, we're required to call you. Your sister tried to refuse medical care, but as she is a minor, we did so anyway."

Oliver's heart caught in his throat. "I'll be there in five minutes." As soon as he was at the hospital, he ran into the room a nurse directed him to and almost skidded to a stop when he saw his sister on the bed, looking grumpy, worried, and okay save for a bandage on her head. "Ollie! Please, make them let me out of here. They won't let me go and I'm fine!"

He sat on the edge of her bed, Roy already occupying the chair next to it. "What happened?"

"Felicity told us she was leaving so Roy went to walk her to her car and we agreed that we should go to his place to talk more so he took me to my car and made sure I was in it before he took Lis to her car. When the car wouldn't start, I figured that I'd just walk to them, but some guy grabbed me. Roy heard me scream and him and Lis came running and Roy started beating up on the guy after he hit me, but he got hit hard and Roy was on the ground for a bit. I don't know much because I passed out."

Roy rubbed a hand over a tired face with a heavy sigh. "I got hit and the guy was going to kill me, but Lis tackled him and knocked the knife away. She almost hit with a crowbar that she got from God only knows where, but he hit her first and took the crowbar and hit her a couple times more with that." He closed his eyes, wiping away a stray tear. "I knocked him out with this rock I found."

Oliver looked about the room. "Where is she?"

Roy's eyes filled with tears. "Surgery. She got stabbed and the idiot tried to hide it. Said she didn't want to worry me." He angrily rubbed his eyes. "Like this doesn't worry me! I just lost my mom and now I might lose her! She's all I have left."

Oliver frowned. "Do they have any news on her?"

Roy shook his head. "They started working on her in the ambulance, but we've only been here fifteen minutes. God only knows how long she's going to be in there."

By Oliver's count, Felicity was in surgery for four hours, fifteen minutes, and twenty five seconds. At four hours, sixteen minutes, and eight seconds, she was being rolled into the ICU. From what the doctor told them, the reason there was so much blood was because the knife had pierced her left kidney. They'd needed to remove it, but as her right kidney was perfectly healthy, she would be fine. Her collar bone was a clean break and would heal just fine. The only real issue was Felicity had O- blood and while that meant that she was a 'universal donor' it also meant that she could only receive O- blood, and the hospital was going through a shortage of it. They tested all three in the room and Oliver was the only one who matched. He guessed that this was because he was her soul mate. They were supposed to match each other in every way, including blood type so if one was in need the other could help. He figured that this still stood even though _she_ wasn't _his_ soul mate.

As Oliver donated his blood, he his heart sank dead into his stomach as he came to the second painfully stunning conclusion of the day. Laurel's blood type was AB+.


	5. Cut Out All the Ropes and Let Me Fall

_Previously on Skinny Love:_

 _As Oliver donated his blood, he his heart sank dead into his stomach as he came to the second painfully stunning conclusion of the day. Laurel's blood type was AB+._

Oliver had no idea what he was going to do with the twist on the Laurel-situation, but he knew that he needed to see Felicity. He needed to know that she was okay. As he waited, he fell asleep in the waiting room.

 _Ten year old Ollie Queen was tired of waiting. His mom was taking forever to get his dad out and Tommy had stopped talking to him five minutes ago. He was so bored. He sighed and looked around the room, watching each person in hopes of finding something interesting to see. His eyes landed on a blonde woman who was talking to Officer Lance. "Quentin, there has to be some way you can help us. You saw him here! He's been gone for three years, but that doesn't mean that you can't help me!"_

 _Officer Lance sighed. "I'm sorry, Ms. Smoak, but I got the chance to talk to Mr. Kuttler and he's requested that we stop looking into his disappearance as he's not missing. He's moved to Central City with his wife and son."_

 _Ms. Smoak huffed. "And what about child support, then? I can barely pay for rent, utilities, and food, much less whatever else Felicity needs. Her shoes have holes in them and I can't afford a new pair."_

 _Ollie sat up a little straighter. This was interesting. Officer Lance sighed. "Mr. Kuttler is claiming that Felicity isn't his daughter. He says that he wouldn't have a child with anyone other than his soul mate."_

 _The blonde's bottom lip trembled. "But he loved her! I know he did! Should I sue?"_

 _"I don't think that would get you very far. The court loves soul mate cases and the chances of you getting anything out of him are slim to none. If anything, when a paternity test is done and Felicity is proven to be his daughter, he'll say you did it on purpose and chances are… the jury will decide in his favor and you might have to pay_ him _a settlement. Look, Ms. Smoak… Donna, we both know that this isn't going to end well. My suggestion is to stop fighting it and let him go. You've got a beautiful little girl there and she's smart as a whip. You need to focus on taking care of her. She needs you."_

 _Ollie's eyes flicked to the little blonde girl next to Donna just as someone walked in front of him and the world exploded with color. He looked up to find a pair of warm brown eyes focused on him. For a moment, he let his gaze turn back to the little girl and her mom, listening in to the end of their conversation. The little girl smiled up at her mom, showing off pretty, straight teeth. "Don't worry, Mommy. I don't have to have new shoes. We can just get some tape and make these ones okay. They have pretty purple duct tape at the Dollar Store. We can get some of that. My shoes'll be even better than the ones the other kids have." Donna smiled down at her daughter and Ollie turned his attention to the person in front of him. She smiled at him. "Hi, I'm Laurel. I think you're my soul mate. Do you see color?"_

 _Ollie smiled. "Yeah. I do."_

Oliver jerked awake with a gasp, mind racing. Laurel wasn't his soul mate. Never had been. It was Felicity. Always had been. She'd been in that police station with her mother. He'd seen her before he'd seen Laurel. But she hadn't seen him until he'd walked into her office. That was why he'd seen color before she did. He was in shock. And more importantly, why was it that Laurel saw color when she looked at him? Her parents were soul mates, he knew that. Of course, Felicity's theory didn't hold up in light of her being his soul mate so he supposed that it was possible that people whose parents were soul mates could have a child that had no soul mate.

He thought about it for several minutes, going over the memory in his head until he figured it out. It finally gave him the last puzzle piece he needed to get most of the picture. He'd seen Felicity, not Laurel that day at the station. Felicity had not seen him. Laurel also had not seen him. Tommy had been with him. Tommy had seen Laurel and Laurel had seen Tommy. It would explain why Tommy was so protective of the lawyer and why he got so upset every time Oliver made Laurel sad or upset. It just didn't explain why Laurel thought Oliver was her soul mate and not Tommy. He supposed that it could be because she'd thought he was hers, but something about it was just… off. He didn't know why, but something felt strange to him. He needed to talk to Laurel about it for sure.

As he was getting ready to pull out his phone to call his faux-soul mate, Dr. Firr came down the hall. "She's awake and ready for visitors. But just one at a time. She's still weak. She can't be excited. She needs to heal."

Roy was the first to run down the hall and Oliver let him. Felicity thought that she wasn't his soul mate. He turned to Thea, who had been discharged while Felicity was still in surgery, laying a hand on her shoulder. "Tell Felicity I'll be by to see her soon. I need to go touch base with Laurel."

Thea nodded. "Say hi to her from me."

Oliver nodded back. He needed to figure out what was going on.

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Felicity woke up slowly. Everything ached. She felt like she'd been hit by a car and she really wished she had some Ibuprofen or something. With a shaky hand, she managed to grab the remote next to her bed, pressing the Call button. She seriously needed to talk to someone. The last thing she remembered was being in the ambulance and Roy watching her with tears in his eyes.

A kind nurse hurried into the room and told her that she would be fine and got the doctor for her. Dr. Firr explained her injuries and told her to take it easy. He asked if she was ready for visitors and she nodded. She knew that Roy would want to see her after the stunt she pulled and she wanted to know that Thea was okay.

Roy was there within a minute, tears in his eyes. "Felicity Meghan Smoak, you crazy fool! What were you thinking? You could have died!"

Tears spilled onto her cheeks. "I'm sorry. I didn't want you to worry about me. Thea needed you. Is she okay?"

Roy plopped himself into the chair next to her bed. "She's fine. Just a concussion. Nothing that time won't heal. You, however, are down a kidney and they're going through a shortage of your blood. It's a good thing Oliver showed up for Thea, or you'd probably be in a coma or something right now. Turns out he's the same blood type as you and he donated a pint to the cause. You're going to be just fine. But if you ever pull that crap again, you won't be just fine because I will kill you and bring you back to kill you again. Got it?"

Felicity smiled weakly. "Got it." She frowned, trying to sit up suddenly. "Wait, what day is it? Please tell me you didn't skip your own mom's funeral because of my stupidity!"

Roy gently pushed her back down. "Calm down, Lissy. You've only been out about six hours. Mom's funeral isn't until tomorrow. Everything's fine."

Felicity nodded, sitting back with a grimace before smirking slightly at her brother. "So, how bad do I look?"

Roy chuckled. "You've got a black eye and your eyebrow has a cut through it."

"Like I hit myself with a car door like when I got my first car, or like I got in a fist fight, like with Monica Jeremy in fifth grade?"

Roy laughed, a small smile adorning his face. "Kind of a mix because let's be honest, you looked worse when you hit yourself with the door, than when Monica punched you. I'm still not sure how that happened."

"The fight or the door?"

"Both."

Felicity smirked. "Well, Monica's 'boyfriend' told me that he thought I was cute and Monica got jealous and pulled my hair. When I pushed her in retaliation, she decked me."

Roy grinned. "And the car door."

She chuckled. "It was stuck. You know that car was a piece of shit. I was yanking on the door handle and it suddenly came open and smacked me dead in the face."

The teen laughed, the bright smile on his face making Felicity's chest warm. "I'm glad _you_ think it's funny, Harper, but I'll have you know that it hurt like a bitch."

Roy shook his head. "Tell me you don't think it's at least a little funny."

She grinned at him. "Maybe a little."

Someone knocked on the door and Thea poked her head in. "So, are you going to hog all the visiting hours, or are you going to let me talk to Lissy?"

Roy smiled, standing and offering the chair to his soul mate. "By all means, take a seat. I'm going to go grab a cup of coffee. You need anything, Thea?"

The brunette shook her head and Felicity stared pitifully at her brother. "I don't suppose I could squeeze a cup out of you?"

Roy glared. "You just lost a kidney, Lis! You don't need caffeine!"

Felicity pouted, but didn't argue. Thea grinned at their interaction before turning her stern glare on the blonde in the bed. "Felicity, what were you thinking? You could have died!"

Felicity groaned. "Not you, too!"

"I imagine you'll be getting this talk a lot, Felicity. You did something very stupid and it almost killed you."

Felicity smiled sheepishly. "But it didn't."

"That doesn't help!" Thea groaned. "You're lucky Ollie was here."

Felicity nodded. "Roy told me. But are _you_ okay?"

"I'm fine. Nothing that won't heal. My skin will grow back together and there probably won't even be a scar. You on the other hand, can't grow back a kidney. What if it had been something worse? Never let something like that happen again, you hear me? And if you get hurt, I mean, even if you stub your toe, I want to hear about it! God only knows what could have happened if I hadn't noticed."

Felicity nodded and Thea finally smiled. "Now, we need to think of what we're going to tell people about that shiner on your face. I mean, if it were me, I probably would try to cover it with make-up, but you don't strike me as that kind of person. Obviously the real story is kinda kickass, but I think that we could make it even better. I mean, you lost a kidney. We can make you sound even more awesome!"

Felicity laughed, then groaned in pain. "Stop being funny. Laughing hurts."

The brunette crossed her arms over her chest, sitting back in her chair with a smirk. "Well, you deserve it. Oh, and while I remember, Ollie told me to tell you that he'd be back to visit you soon. He just needed to talk to Laurel about something." Always one to gossip, Thea grinned and scooted closer to the IT girl's side. "If you ask me, something strange is going on there. First, Laurel makes him stop talking to pretty much anyone but family and her, and she's, like, smothering him. I never liked her; I gotta be honest. It was almost like when they got to their teens, she got _too_ attached to him. Not soul mate-y at all. Like she was trying to keep her hold on him. Why would she try to do that if they were soul mates? Shouldn't the fact that they're soul mates make her feel like he's not going anywhere?"

Thea smiled and turned on the TV, obviously not expecting a reply to that tidbit of information, and flipped to the shopping channel. The two talked about what they saw and what they wanted to buy before a knock once again interrupted Felicity's conversation. Thinking it was Roy, or maybe even a nurse, Felicity was more than surprised to see Oliver stepping into the room.

 **A/N: Well, there you guys go! We've got some more Olicity going on, but what's going on with Laurel and Tommy? And whatever will Oliver say to Felicity? Duhn, duhn, duh! Seeing how much you guys enjoyed the deal last week, I'll offer it again. Get my five reviews by tomorrow and I'll give you the next chapter. Until then, you awesome people!**


	6. And Now All Your Love is Wasted

_The two talked about what they saw and what they wanted to buy before a knock once again interrupted Felicity's conversation. Thinking it was Roy, or maybe even a nurse, Felicity was more than surprised to see Oliver stepping into the room._

Oliver was stuck in his thoughts all the way to his and Laurel's apartment. As he unlocked the door and stepped in, he saw the jacket he'd given Tommy for his birthday. He didn't think much of it as he walked past it, knowing that Laurel and Tommy were close friends and now he knew why they got along so well. He found them on the couch, each with a glass of wine, watching a movie. To someone who didn't know what Oliver knew, it would have been suspicious the way they were cuddled against one another, but Oliver knew.

Tommy tried to disentangle himself as soon as he saw Oliver, but the archer stopped him. "Don't worry, Buddy. I know."

Tommy's jaw dropped. "How? You've always been so sure."

"I fell asleep at the hospital and instead of dreaming, I remembered that day at the police station and realized a few things. Does she know?"

Tommy sadly shook his head and Laurel looked angry. "What are you guys talking about?" She looked between the two friends before he gaze zeroed in on Oliver. "Are you cheating on me?"

Oliver sighed, taking a seat on the couch. "Laurel, there's something we need to talk about that I think we both have known for a while."

The lawyer sat up, shaking off Tommy's arm. "What? What is it?"

"You're not my soul mate."

Her brow crinkled. "Yes. Yes, I am. You _know_ I am, Ollie! You saw color when you looked at me!"

He shook his head. "I saw color when I looked at another little girl that day. A little girl and her mother, looking for her father."

Laurel drew back in shock, recognizing the information. "Felicity Smoak? I thought you said she was just a friend!"

Oliver shook his head. "I connected with her so quickly and it was so easy for us to get along and I wanted to make her smile and make her happy from the moment I really met her. Can you honestly tell me that you thought that I was your soul mate all these years? I know you and Tommy had been close. Didn't you feel some connection with him?"

Laurel frowned, staring down at her hands. "I… I guess, but I wanted it to be you. You were so sweet that day in the station. You let me sit with you guys and we talked and when you were in that car crash with Tommy the year before the Queen's Gambit went down, I _really_ knew. I just didn't want to believe it. I wanted to believe that we were an anomaly."

Tommy frowned at her. "What are you talking about?"

"You both needed blood, so they drew mine because I told them I was your soul mate. They checked to make sure and I matched Tommy and not you. I… I just wanted it to be you."

Tommy looked devastated. "Why not me? Why let me think that I was just an unlucky bastard with no soul mate when you knew?"

"Because you flirt with everything that moves! You went out and partied every night and slept with any girl you could find and I didn't want that!"

Tommy rubbed a hand over his face. "Did you ever think that maybe it was because I was trying to get over you? If I knew I was your soul mate, I would never have done all that!"

Laurel hung her head in shame. "I'm sorry! I just panicked!"

Tommy sighed. "I know, I know. It just hurts is all."

Oliver silently watched as Laurel softly laid her head on Tommy's shoulder and smiled. "I'm glad you guys are connecting. I just needed to talk about it; make sure I wasn't just being crazy."

They nodded and Laurel looked at him, teary eyed. "I'm sorry."

"I know. Now, my real soul mate is in the hospital and I need to be with her."

Tommy frowned. "What happened?"

He scowled. "She was at Big Belly Burger with a friend and Thea stayed to talk with them. Turns out Felicity's friend is Thea's soul mate. Anyway, Thea got mugged and Roy and Felicity ran to help. Roy almost got knocked out and Felicity fought the guy- badly, I might add. She got stabbed and hit with a crowbar a few times. They had to remove one of her kidneys."

Both Laurel and Tommy grimaced and Oliver stood. "I need to get back. We'll talk more later." With that he left and made his way back to the hospital. When he got there, he was told that Felicity was allowed to have visitors one at a time and that there was someone in the room with her already. He waited a while before approaching her door with the flowers he'd stopped for on the way to the hospital. He'd taken almost ten minutes to pick them out. He knew that Felicity wouldn't want something as cliché as roses, but she'd want something pretty and bright at the same time. In the end, he chose a bouquet of colorful carnations. He knocked on the door before opening it and peering inside. He knew that Roy was waiting the hall so he couldn't be in the room and couldn't honestly say he was surprised to find his sister in the blonde's room, talking a mile a minute about what they saw on the shopping channel.

Once Thea saw her brother, she jumped up and patted him on the shoulder before leaving. Felicity smiled at him and the bruise around her eye gave him chest pains. Her pale face made anger flood his gut, but he forced it down and sat next to her, presenting her with the flowers. She grinned at him, delicately sniffing them before setting them aside. "Thank you."

And Oliver, the idiot he was, only said "I know I'm your soul mate."

The smiled dropped away and her face got a shade paler, much to his alarm. "Um…"

He shifted uncomfortably. "I figured it out at Big Belly. It's why I left. And then when you got hurt, I came here and donated my blood and I realized something." Her gaze told him to go on. "Laurel's blood type is different than mine. It should be the same if we're soul mates, but it isn't." He sighed. "On a quick side note, do you remember coming to Starling when you were younger?"

She nodded. "Mom and I were looking for Dad. We were told that he was seen here. Why?"

Oliver took a breath. "I think that was the day I saw my soul mate. I saw the memory again when I fell asleep waiting for you to wake up. I remembered looking at a blonde woman looking for her daughter's father and a little blonde girl telling her mom that she didn't need new shoes because the could fix her old ones up with purple duct tape. I was looking at that little girl when Laurel walked in front of me."

Felicity's mouth dropped open. "But… That doesn't make sense! No one in my family has had a soul mate for years! And shouldn't I have seen color, too?"

Oliver grinned. "Well, you see, I have a theory that I have yet to prove. Or to ever prove, really." Felicity blushed delightfully at his repeat of her words from when they met. "You see, there's a very well kept secret in the Queen family. One that only the members of the family and a select few others know. My parents weren't soul mates. They got married because their parents thought it would be a great business maneuver for them to get married and pop out a few kids. The daughter of Dearden Industries and the CEO of Queen Consolidated being soul mates? The press went wild. So, by your theory, I shouldn't have a soul mate, but then I got to thinking. We're both supposed to be alone in life. Right?"

Felicity nodded and he continued. "Maybe, we're just two broken pieces that just so happened to fit together and be whole." Tears filled Felicity's eyes and he continued. "And I think that you didn't get your colors that day because you didn't see me. I saw you, but you didn't look my way."

Felicity wiped away her tears with her good hand. "But then why do Thea and Roy match? Roy's parents were soul mates."

Oliver pursed his lips, standing to pace. He paused in front of her bed. "You can never tell Thea this."

The blonde frowned. "What?"

"Robert wasn't her father." Felicity's eyes went wide, her lips parting in shock. "When I was eight, my mom met her soul mate. She visited him in secret and ended up getting pregnant with Thea. She was born when I was a few months shy of being ten and apparently, my mother told my father. From what Dad told me, they'd both agreed to tell each other if they ever met their true soul mate. Obviously, for press related problems, they could never get a divorce and be with the one they were truly meant to be with, but both were okay with the other being with their soul mate. Unfortunately for Mom, her soul mate died soon after Thea was born."

Felicity stared at him, eyebrows almost to her hairline. "What about your dad?"

"His soul mate was his intern at QC."

Felicity winced. "Ouch. I'm sure that went over well in the company."

Oliver nodded. "Anyway, he didn't tell me much about that, except that it didn't work out well between them. I don't know who his soul mate was, but she left him because he refused to run away with her. They almost did, but Thea broke her arm and he came back for her. After Thea's real dad died, Dad accepted her as his own daughter and loved her like she was."

Felicity's mouth made a perfect 'o'. "Wow, you're family is even more screwed up than mine." Then she smiled at him and he knew everything would be fine. "And I accept your theory as just as plausible as mine."

He grinned and moved back to her side, taking her face in his hands and kissing her deeply. He pressed a few more, shorter kisses to her lips before sitting back with her hand firmly held in his. "I've been wanting to do that since we met in your office."

She grinned back. "I can definitely agree with that one." She chuckled, a small grimace showing her pain. "So, any other secrets you plan on dropping on me?"

"Tommy is Laurel's soul mate."

She nodded. "That'll do it. I don't think I can handle anymore, so you should probably hold off on anymore for a while."

He smiled and leaned closer to her. "Just one more, then. And I'm the only one who knows this one." She nodded for him to go on and he let his grin spread across his face. "I love you."

 **A/N: And end scene! I hope you guys liked it. I was completely blown away by the response to this chapter! I asked for at least five reviews and you amazing people almost tripled that! We are now at almost 100 follows and the favs are at 40. You guys are awesome and make it fun for me to write. I will see you all next Tuesday!**


	7. And in the Morning I'll Be With You

Felicity grinned widely at Oliver. "I love you, too."

They stared lovingly at each other for several moments before the door opened and the nurse entered the room with an IV bag of saline. She smiled kindly at the pair. "Sir, I'm afraid that you need to leave for the night. Visiting hours ended about half an hour."

Oliver smiled back. "I'm her soul mate. That _is_ still the policy, right?"

The nurse raised an eyebrow. "Yes, but if I recall, Mr. Queen, Ms. Lance is yours. Not Ms. Smoak."

Oliver sighed. "That is a long story, but the short version is simply that there was a very large, very lengthy mistake and it has been corrected. Felicity is my soul mate and I am hers."

Though the woman looked skeptical, she let it pass 'just this once, Mr. Queen' and left after changing Felicity's IV. Felicity giggled when the nurse was gone. "I don't think she likes you much."

Oliver pretended to be offended. "I don't know what you're talking about, Felicity. Everyone _loves_ me. I'm rather sad to hear that you don't see that. I'm Oliver Queen! The not-so-eligible bachelor that everyone wants to be with. Honestly, you should feel lucky you've got such a hunk as your soul mate."

Felicity laughed, not even the pain of her wound able to keep the sound down. "I don't think you'd be able to act more Ollie Queen if you tried."

Seeing the happiness on her face and how it made her even more beautiful- if such a thing was possible- Oliver could only grin back at her and whisper a reverent "I love you."

She smiled softly back at him. "I love you, too."

He sat back in the chair, his hand contently wrapped around hers and watched as she tried to turn on the TV with her bad arm, failing quickly. She stared at him, eyes going wide and bottom lip jutting out. "Help?"

He chuckled and took the remote from her, flipping the TV quickly to BBC. To Felicity's delight, there was an episode of Doctor Who on and she all but squealed in happiness, telling him that once she got hold of her phone, she was going to jack the TV and play Netflix so he could see the first episode- new series first, she acquiesced. It was one of the few shows that he hadn't already started with her and it made her very, very happy when he didn't argue. But, then, it seemed like he had no problems watching what she wanted to watch, something he'd always had issues with when he was dealing with Laurel. No doubt, though, it was because he and Felicity were simply meant to be. He wanted to watch what she wanted because it made her happy and there was nothing that made him happier than her being happy.

It wasn't long before she was drifting off and Oliver watched her sleep, thinking back to all the problems in his relationship with Laurel. He honestly wondered how it hadn't been more obvious to him before that they didn't really fit. They were always fighting, whether it be about some random anniversary he missed, but also didn't know existed- how the hell was he supposed to remember when they first got back together after their first fight?- or him missing a function that she wanted them to attend but he had no interest in- he didn't like going to the parties his parents had, why would he go to something that would just bore him more? He didn't want to deal with that and it pissed Laurel off more than one would think. She'd always said it was because she thought it made them seem like less of a couple and that their relationship was weak. He thought she was being silly and told her so. It was one of their worse fights.

With Felicity it was different. Their fights were few and far between and when they _did_ fight, it was over silly things like Oliver telling her that Warehouse 13 was simply strange and not very interesting. On one occasion, Oliver had spent the night twice in a row, desperate to get away from his judgmental family and supposed soul mate. The first day had gone smoothly, but when Felicity got home after work, she'd tried to keep her cool, but Oliver could tell that she was upset over the fact that the soy-peanut butter she'd had was open on the counter with the knife still stuck in. He'd cleaned up the rest of his mess, but the sunflower-butter was surprisingly delicious and he'd been snacking out of the jar. She was understandably upset about the fact that he'd eaten most of the jar, but was even more upset that he'd double dipped. He hadn't seen the big deal, but she'd groaned, hands going to her hair and tugging lightly in frustration. "It's gross, Oliver! Do you know how much bacteria grows like that? Like, I don't even care that you ate it, but you double dipped! That's so nasty!"

Oliver had simply bought her a new jar and a carton of mint chip iced cream to make it up to her. She hadn't let him near her jars or cartons for a while, but after he proved that he wouldn't make the same mistake, she'd stopped supervising. Oliver knew that the little spats they had were normal and that the ones that he and Laurel had were not. They simply fought too much to be considered compatible.

Felicity was dead to the world at the end of his musing and Oliver pressed a kiss to her forehead before leaving the room. Now that he knew that his soul mate was okay, he needed to put on the Hood and find whoever had hurt her and his baby sister.

SK*SK*SK*SK*SK*SK*SK*SK*SK*SK*SK*SK*SK*SK*SK*SK*SK*SK*SK*SK

Felicity woke up to a throbbing in her side and frowned, blinking awake. A look around the room told her that Oliver had left sometime while she'd slept and also drew her eyes to the small stuffed bear on the table next to her bed. She raised an eyebrow, painfully stretching out her good arm to reach the plush toy. There was a small note attached to it and she smiled as she read it.

 _Felicity,_

 _I saw this bear and thought of you._

 _Sorry I had to go; there was an issue at the club._

 _Get better soon._

 _Love, your soul mate._

She ran her hand over the silky fur of the bear, chuckling at the Doctor Who T-shirt it was wearing. She was lucky to have such a thoughtful soul mate. A look at her phone told her that it was about eight in the morning and a chat with the doctor told her that she was stuck in the hospital for the next four days, half of those being on bed rest to let her heal. Dr. Firr told her that they didn't generally keep patients so long or have them on bed rest with her injuries, but he was told by someone- he refused to tell who- that if she was allowed up, she wouldn't sit back down. She'd complained heavily, but the man was insistent that she need the rest to heal properly. She'd lost a kidney, after all, and could have died.

She'd started to argue with him that she was fine, but Oliver stepped into the room at that point and smiled. It hit her then, that she wouldn't be the only one affected by her pain. She'd been on her own for years, but now Oliver was there to worry about her. Her pain may not physically pain him, but she knew that him seeing her hurt caused him emotional pain. She stopped fighting then. She didn't want him to hurt for her.

Dr. Firr disappeared and Felicity smiled at Oliver. "How'd it go at the club?"

"Fine. Just a minor wifi problem. How are you feeling? Have they told you when you're allowed to go?"

Felicity sighed. "I feel a stabbing pain in my side- pun intended- and they told me I'm here for another four days and two of those are mandatory bed rest. Someone told the doctor that I'd be up and about as soon as I got the green light. I, for one, blame Roy."

Oliver frowned. "Oh. Well, I was thinking that maybe when you got out of here, you would consider coming to stay with me? I mean, you don't have to, but I think that it would be good for you to have someone close by while you recover. And, you know, I work at a club so I'm only there at night. And Tommy can cover the club."

Felicity smiled, blushing slightly at the thought of spending so much time with her soul mate. "Sure."

He began to pace. "And I know that you like your space, but I also know that you like your food, and the housekeeper Raisa is the best cook I know! She can make anything you want and I'll make sure I let her know that you're allergic to nuts. Because she's really good a remembering stuff like that. She remembers that Thea is allergic to shellfish and I'm allergic to watermelon, which is a really strange allergy and you don't hear it too often. She even remembers that Malcolm Merlyn doesn't eat cheese for whatever reason, even though he only comes over once every few years."

Felicity chuckled. "Oliver!"

He stopped. "What?"

"I said okay."

He grinned in relief. "Oh. Cool."

She ignored the pain in her side in favor of laughing. "You know, I think that's the most I've ever heard you speak at one time. It's nice to be on the other end of a babble for once."

He laughed along with her and sat next to her, taking her hand in his. They stayed up late into the night watching Doctor Who when Oliver left and came back with some Big Belly burgers and shakes for them to enjoy.

 **A/N: Happy Tuesday, people! Here's your next chapter! I hope you enjoy! I'm not going to be able to write a chapter by tomorrow so I'll save the usual quick update for a later date. I just started up with my college classes for this semester so I don't have as much free time. I love y'all and will see you next week.**


	8. Pour a Little Salt We Were Never Here

Felicity was out of the hospital the next day with Oliver's influence over the doctors and on her way to the mansion with the aforementioned soul mate. Oliver was in the back seat with her, Diggle at the wheel, and the vigilante had to say that it felt nice to be able to sit next to her, arm around her shoulders and her head resting on his chest, still rather foggy from the pain medication given to her at the hospital. Before leaving, the doctor had given him a rather lengthy list of what he needed to do to take care of Felicity, but he couldn't say that he minded too much- if at all. He wanted to take care of her. It made him happy to do so.

As they neared the mansion, Felicity's head lifted off his chest and Oliver held back a laugh at the widening of her eyes. "You didn't tell me you lived in a castle."

Oliver smiled. "Not a castle. It's just a… really big… house."

She scoffed. "Oliver, my house has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. If I quadrupled that, I feel like I'd still come up with less than your house. Hence the term, castle."

Oliver shook his head. "Agree to disagree." His tone turned teasing. "This happens to be a very modestly sized house, Felicity. I can't help that you live in a refrigerator box."

The blonde chuckled. "Oh, I see. Well, I didn't hear you complaining when you spent two nights in my refrigerator box, eating my nut free peanut butter."

He groaned, throwing his head back. "I thought you let that one go! I even replaced the sunflower butter I ruined. Have mercy on your poor, dumb soul mate!"

Her giggle had his heart beating a little faster. "Well, when you put it like that, I suppose I can let it slide. But only this once. If you start drinking out of the OJ carton, we're gonna fight."

Oliver laughed and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Whatever you say, honey."

She giggled again and they soon pulled up in front of the mansion. Oliver quickly got out of the car and jogged around to the other side just as Diggle opened her door. He helped her out of the car, letting her balance on her feet for a few moments before he gently leaned down and scooped her up. She gasped. "What are you doing?"

"The doctor is only letting you go on the condition that you stay on bed rest. That means no walking anywhere and staying put."

She pouted. "I was hoping you'd forget that between there and here."

"Nope! I am going to be here twenty-four/seven ready to take care of you and there to get you around."

Felicity smirked. "And when I have to go to the bathroom?"

"Then I take you there and turn around while you do your business."

She pursed her lips. "Yeah, that's not going to fly. I'm not going to let you there stand there and listen while I go to the bathroom. Not happening."

"Fine. I'll wait outside and you'll tell me when you're done."

She sighed. "I'm liking this less and less. Thank God it's only for one more day."

Oliver smirked. "I'm just glad it means I get to hold you all the time."

She frowned up at him. "I don't know if I like where this sweet talking is going. Are you going to try to sell my other kidney? Because I don't know if we're going to be able to move past that in our relationship."

He mock-pouted. "Dang; another plan foiled. Though, I suppose death is something that's a little bit of a roadblock in a relationship. It might be hard to get over that one. I guess I'm just stuck with you then."

She squawked in indignity as they entered the mansion, Diggle pulling open the door with a small smirk, as if to say 'I told you so'. Diggle had been the one to pick up on Oliver and Felicity's relationship in the beginning, telling the archer to take a good look at the woman he thought was his soul mate. Oliver glared at his friend and partner in crime, silently telling him to knock it off. Thea was coming down the stairs as they stepped into the foyer. "Lis! What are you doing here? And Ollie, why are you here? Why isn't Laurel with you?"

Oliver sighed. "It's a long story, Speedy."

"Good thing I've got time, then."

Oliver rolled his eyes. "I'll give you the full rundown later, but the gist of it is that Felicity is my soul mate. Not Laurel. I'm going to be moving back in here for a while and Felicity needed someone to take care of her while she healed so I invited her over. Got it?'

Thea nodded and Oliver raised an eyebrow at the satisfied grin on her face. "What's with the look?"

"Oh, nothing. I'll let you get Lis set up. We can talk later."

Oliver looked down at the blonde in his arms. "That was weird, right? It wasn't just me?"

Felicity nodded. "Definitely weird. I cite being a teenager as the excuse. You?"

"I will accept your reasoning. Now, let's get you all settled in."

SK*SK*SK*SK*SK*SK*SK*SK*SK*SK*SK*SK*SK*SK*SK*SK*SK*SK*SK*SK

John Diggle liked to think himself a wise man. He'd been on several tours with the army and had helped his brother raise his nephew when Andy was dealing with PTSD following his own time in the armed forced with Carly helping him along. Diggle had watched Andy meet and fall in love with his soul mate and it made the former soldier happy to see that their relationship stayed strong over the years.

While on a mission overseas, Diggle met a beautiful soldier named Lyla. The second he saw her, his life had been filled with color and he knew she saw it too, however, Lyla already had a man in her life. His name was Derek and he claimed that he'd seen color when he saw Lyla. They'd thought that maybe her colors would take time to come in, but they'd been together a year when she met Diggle and knew it was fake. Derek kept up his insistence that Lyla was his soul mate, but it was proved false when Lyla found out from a friend back home that Derek had been with his real soul mate while she was away and that the man had only wanted to be with her because she was the daughter of a wealthy man.

Diggle had seen the couple the few times Derek had been allowed to visit and had seen something suspicious in the way that the other man seemed almost cold with his supposed soul mate. He'd been confused, but didn't say anything. Lyla was a force of her own and he didn't want to interfere. He realized now that it wasn't just Derek's personality, but the fact that he wasn't the right person for Lyla. To say that Diggle was upset when it all came out would be a bit of an overstatement. Now that Lyla knew the truth, she was willing- cautiously, of course- to be with her fellow soldier.

They'd gotten married when they came back to the States, settling down with the hopes of having a family. They'd both gotten bored quickly, however, and Diggle went to work as a bodyguard and Lyla got hired by ARGUS. Whereas they'd fought plenty before, they found that they were happier working a job they were interested in. Now, the couple had four-year-old twin sons named Jeffery and Jacob. They were happy and it was easy to see.

It was also easy to see that Oliver Queen was not happy with Laurel Lance. The woman was cold and Diggle was suspicious when he could liken her behavior to Derek's all those years ago. He'd tried subtly getting Oliver to see the problems in his relationship, but Oliver was stubborn and seemed to think that the sun rose and set on Laurel. Diggle was worried for his friend when his relationship with the lawyer got progressively more strained and it was sad to see the normally strong character feel so weak.

Then Oliver met Felicity Smoak. The second that Diggle saw the way they acted together, he knew. It wasn't hard to see, but with everyone thinking that Oliver had already found his soul mate, no one paid it any attention. Except Diggle. He'd seen them as they were from the second he'd watched them and he'd seen the hurt in the poor blonde's eyes when she listened to Oliver talk about Laurel. He knew her pain and felt for her. So he encouraged Oliver to spend time with the IT girl. He knew from experience that any time with your soul mate was better than none, despite them not thinking that they loved you.

The body guard kept his soul mate updated on the Chronicles of Oliver's Dumb, Blind Ass and he knew that Lyla was eager to hear each new story he told her. And that was why he was thrilled when the truth came out that Laurel had been lying to Oliver for years and Felicity actually was his soul mate. He'd managed to get the full story out of the vigilante on the car ride to the hospital and had relayed it to his wife upon returning home. Lyla was happy as well that the story had a happy ending told him that she expected daily updates on the new story of Olicity. Diggle still wasn't sure how he felt about that name, but he was happy that his friend was finally in a relationship that made him happy.

 **A/N: Welcome back, my darling viewers! I know it's later than I usually post, but I'm in class when I usually post, so… I probably mentioned this last week, but call me Dory and welcome back, my darling viewers! Just kidding, lol. I hope you enjoy this. I thought I'd include Diggle's point of view in all of this, so there ya go.**


	9. Come On Skinny Love Just Last the Year

**A/N: Hey, sorry about the late update! I totally blanked on the date. This is probably one of my least favorite chapters, but it kind of gave me a point to go from here. Laurel's going to be more than a little OC here, but more on that later. I have a reason for it, I promise. Anyway, here's the chapter. Lemme know what you think.**

 **Updated A/N 04/12/17: I'm going to end this here, but fear not, there will be a sequel. When I wrote this chapter, it felt finished, but I wanted to keep going for you guys, but my brain seems to think that this is done and refuses to give it anymore attention. That being said, I'm also getting to a really important time in my life and I need to focus on school. With my graduations just about a month away, I can't afford to drop the ball. Once I've graduated, I'll be able to have a more regular schedule. As I'm graduating with both my high school diploma and my Associates of the Arts degree, I'm hoping to find a job at least a little less stressful than my current one. If anyone has any suggestions on what that might be, feel free to leave a comment with it. I love you all, and thank you for your support on this story. I'll see you in the eventual sequel!**

She was suspicious to say the least. Felicity, of course, knew that Oliver was her soul mate and she should trust him, but when he'd insisted on her staying in his room so he could monitor her, she obviously assumed that he would be there with her. And sometimes he was, but more and more as the days wore on, she would wake up at night to him sneaking out of their room and not return for several hours. She was confused and curious, but she also knew that she was still in no shape to try to follow him; she wasn't stupid. So she did what she did best. She used the laptop he'd gotten from her house for her and the next time he went out at night, she followed him- just a little illegally- on the security cameras around the city.

She knew it was wrong, she did, but she _really_ hated mysteries. Loathed them, even. They just begged to be solved, so she did what she did best and solved the damned thing. She was not, however, expecting to be finding out that her soul mate- she still loved the sound of that- was the Hood. That was a bit of a shock. More than a bit, honestly. Why would a billionaire turned castaway turned billionaire again be a vigilante? It didn't add up.

Of course, the more she thought about it, the more it made a lot of things clear up. The syringe of what was definitely Vertigo. The black arrow. The shot up laptop. They were all related to cases that the Hood was working on and so many things became suddenly clear and, honestly, Felicity wasn't sure how she didn't see it before. It should have been very clear for anyone looking hard enough, but she supposed no one looking hard enough. Or maybe Oliver just didn't go to other people for help. The thought kind of warmed her heard and she smiled. She loved the idea that he trusted her enough to go to her for help, but she also knew that he didn't tell her the full truth for some reason and that was enough to make her hesitate. Why wouldn't he? It was before he knew she was his soul mate so it couldn't be that he wanted to keep her safe for that reason. She had just been some IT girl that he got help from on occasion.

Whatever his reason, she had to conclude that it was a good one, so she decided to go to sleep and let him tell her in his own time. Obviously he wasn't working alone if John Diggle's appearance at Oliver's base- Verdant, very clever- was any indication. He was safe enough and as long as she knew that, she could sleep easy.

After she had been staying at the mansion for a week, Felicity finally met the almost mythical Mrs. Queen. Felicity had been sitting on Oliver's bed, eyebrows pulled together in frustration as she tried to type quickly enough with one hand. Oliver was behind her on the bed, his back against the headboard and her back to his chest as he read through a book while she worked. They sat in a comfortable silence for a while until someone burst into the room. The pair jumped as an angry-looking Moira Queen stood before them. Oliver frowned. "Mom? What's the matter?"

"You broke up with Laurel? She's your soul mate! And for this floozy?"

Felicity took a little offense to that, but remained quiet. Oliver was on his feet in an instant. "Mother! This is Felicity. The woman that is _actually_ my soul mate; not the woman that has been lying to me for over a decade!"

The woman crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh, I don't believe that for a second. You know that Laurel would never lie to you. You're perfect for each other. I knew that from the second that you two met."

Oliver shook his head. "No, Mother. Why don't you ask her, then? She'll tell you because she's the one that admitted it to me!"

"Oh, really? Then why is she crying in my foyer about how you left her for some woman that told you she was your soul mate? Why would she lie?"

The vigilante's eyebrows drew together in frustration. "I… don't know. I don't know why she would be. We talked about it. She and Tommy were going to try to work things out."

"Tommy? She told you Tommy was her soul mate? Because according to her, he's been hanging out with her sister."

Oliver threw his hands up. "Okay, I know that one is false, because Sara is in Central City with her soul mate Leonard Snart. I talked to her yesterday."

Moira glared. "And why would you be talking to her? What's your explanation for that?"

"Well, we were shipwrecked on an island for five years together. That kind of bonds people, Mother! Nobody knows what we went through! So, if I want to talk to her about a shared experience, then I think I have the right! Felicity doesn't have anything to say about it, so why should you?"

"Felicity is someone that you've known for a few months, not your whole life!"

"Felicity is my soul mate!"

The person they were screaming about was getting a little uncomfortable and squirmed slightly, but this only proved to draw the Ice Queen's- pun intended- gaze to her. "And who do you think you are; playing with my son's heart like this? You fake a few injuries and you think you own him? Well you're wrong and I want you out of my house immediately!"

Okay, she was not just going to take this. "Fake a few injuries? I got stabbed saving your daughter! A daughter who, by the way, is soul mates with _my_ brother!"

Moira waved a hand, as if to swat away the comment. "That's also no doubt something you and him have made up. What is it you want? Is it money? I've looked into that Harper boy's finances." She stuck her nose in the air. "For my daughter's safety, of course. He's neck deep in debt and has a record to boot. There's no way my daughter could be soul mates with someone like that. I'm sure you two have brainwashed her or something."

Felicity's eyes were wide. "You think we're conning you because we're not rich. Wow. Okay, well, Oliver, I'm going to get my stuff together and go home. I don't know if crazy rubs off, but I don't want to risk it." She reached on her tip toes and pressed a kiss to his lips, throwing a few things in a bag before slipping her feet into the shoes by the bathroom door. As she made to leave, an arm wrapped around her waist. "I'll go with you. I don't want to take the risk that my mother's single minded thinking spreads." He glared at his mother, the anger rolling off him in waves. "And you can bet that I'll be speaking to Laurel as well. I don't know what she's playing, but I don't like it."

He took Felicity's bag from her, slinging it over his shoulder and pushed past his mother, pulling Felicity with him. They hurried down the stairs- as much as they could with Felicity still healing- and were out the door, Oliver glaring at a teary Laurel as they passed.

They got to Felicity's house about ten minutes later and sat in the car a moment. Oliver sighed, looking like he was a second away from hitting someone. "I'm sorry. For my mother. I don't know what's gotten into her. She isn't usually like this, I promise."

Felicity smiled, resting her hand over his. "It's okay. Well, not okay, but you know what I mean. I'm sure she's just trying to protect you two. She's know Laurel for as long as you have. You have to look at it from her point of view. She's known this woman for years- has thought she's been your soul mate for years- and then, suddenly, this same woman comes crying, telling her she's been dumped for someone else. It's only logical that she believed the person she's known longer."

Oliver frowned. "But why not believe her son? Shouldn't I be the one she believes?"

"Well, you're not exactly what one would call a reliable source. You just got back from being on an island for five years. An island you were on with your supposed soul mate's sister, mind you."

He gave a small smile. "Okay, I see your point. But the jabs about Roy faking being Thea's soul mate for money? It was so far out of line it was a different shape. I really am sorry about that."

"I know. Now, enough of this angry talk. How do you feel about hanging out a bit? We could order some Chinese and watch Doctor Who. And don't pretend that you don't like the show because I know you do."

Oliver grinned. "Okay."

They got out of the car, Felicity opening the house door for them. "And, you know, I've kinda gotten used to sleeping with you. Next to you. Not, like, _with you_ with you. Next to you with you. Nothing else. No funny business. Ugh, what I'm trying to say is that… I like having you so close by. Do you want to stay over?"

Oliver smiled and pressed a kiss to her frown. "Yes. I think I like sleeping next to you too."

 **A/N2: And there ya go. I really like Sara's character and while I was iffy on her in the early Arrow seasons, I came to love her and was sad to see her go. That being said, I also loved watching her and Snart in Legends of Tomorrow. I didn't see any need for her to be in the League of Assassins for this so I just brought her home with Oliver. And what the hell is going on with Laurel?**


End file.
